Francesca Hayward | |
---|---|
Born | Nairobi, Kenya | 4 July 1992
Nationality | British |
Education | Royal Ballet School |
Occupation(s) | Ballet dancer, actress |
Height | 5 ft 2 in (157 cm) |
Career | |
Current group | The Royal Ballet |
Francesca Hayward (born 4 July 1992) is a Kenyan-born British ballet dancer and actress. She is a principal dancer in the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden in London. In 2019, she starred as Victoria the White Cat in the musical film Cats , an adaptation of the stage musical of the same name.
Hayward was born in July 1992 in Nairobi, Kenya, the daughter of an English father and a Kenyan mother. At the age of two, she moved to the Goring-by-Sea suburb of Worthing in West Sussex to live with her grandparents. [1] [2] She started ballet at age 3, after her grandparents bought her a video of The Nutcracker . [3] When she was young, she danced at Le Serve School of Ballet and Theatre Dance in Worthing until her teacher encouraged her to audition to White Lodge, the junior section of the Royal Ballet School. [4] [5] After being a Junior Associate from the age of nine, she entered the School at the age of 11 in 2003, and progressed to the Royal Ballet Upper School in 2008. [6] According to Hayward, due to an injury, she did not officially graduate, but received a certificate of attendance. [7]
During her training, Hayward was recognised as an exceptionally gifted dancer and after joining the Royal Ballet in 2010, was increasingly cast in more prominent roles during major productions. [8] [9] [10] She was promoted to First Artist in 2013, Soloist in 2014, First Soloist in 2015 and Principal in 2016. [4] Hayward's talent and technique have received critical praise and acclaim. [11] [12]
In 2012, Hayward danced a pas de deux from The Flower Festival in Genzano with fellow Royal Ballet dancer James Hay at the Erik Bruhn Competition in Canada. She danced Clara for the first time in The Nutcracker at Covent Garden in 2012. [13]
Hayward was featured in the BBC documentary film Dancing the Nutcracker: Inside the Royal Ballet, [14] Her performance as Clara in Sir Peter Wright's production of The Nutcracker and in Woolf Works was recorded for DVD by Opus Arte, [15] [16] and the latter was also broadcast on BBC. [17]
In November 2018, Hayward joined the cast of Cats. She played the role of Victoria in the film directed by Tom Hooper, as well as singing the song "Beautiful Ghosts" written by Taylor Swift and Andrew Lloyd Webber. [18] [19] To allow her participation, Hayward took a temporary leave of absence from The Royal Ballet until the conclusion of filming. [20] [21] [22] She returned to performing with The Royal Ballet in May 2019, dancing alongside Cesar Corrales in his ROH debut in Romeo and Juliet . [23]
In 2020, Hayward's debut as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. [24] She participated in Misty Copeland's fundraiser, Swans for Relief, by dancing The Swan , in light of the pandemic's impact on the dance community. The fund will go to participating dancers' companies and other related relief funds. [25] In Royal Opera House's first performance since the lockdown, which was live-streamed on YouTube, Hayward danced a new piece choreographed by Wayne McGregor alongside Corrales. [26] That year also saw the release of Audrey , a documentary film about the life of British actress and humanitarian Audrey Hepburn in which Hayward played Audrey during her Hollywood years in danced-based "portraits" of Hepburn through her and fellow ballerinas Keira Moore and Alessandra Ferri.
Hayward performed at the Coronation Concert in 2023, to mark the coronation of Charles III and Camilla. [27] [28]
As of 2016, Hayward was living in Stoke Newington in North London. [5]
Ballet | (Principal) Choreographer | Role, Debut Date and Reference |
---|---|---|
The Nutcracker | Sir Peter Wright (after Lev Ivanov) | Clara (December 2012) [13] |
A Month in the Country | Sir Frederick Ashton | Vera (June 2013) [29] |
Manon | Sir Kenneth MacMillan | Manon (October 2014) [30] |
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland | Christopher Wheeldon | Alice (December 2014) [31] |
Romeo and Juliet | Sir Kenneth MacMIllan | Juliet (October 2015) [32] |
Rhapsody | Sir Frederick Ashton | Lead Female Principal (January 2016) [33] |
The Winter's Tale | Christopher Wheeldon | Perdita (April 2016) [34] |
The Invitation | Sir Kenneth MacMillan | The Girl (May 2016) [35] |
Frankenstein | Liam Scarlett | Justine (May 2016) |
La Fille Mal Gardée | Sir Frederick Ashton | Lise (October 2016) [36] |
The Nutcracker | Sir Peter Wright (after Lev Ivanov) | The Sugar Plum Fairy (December 2016) [37] |
The Sleeping Beauty | Marius Petipa | Aurora (February 2017) [38] |
Mayerling | Sir Kenneth MacMillan | Princess Stephanie (May 2017) [39] |
Tarantella | George Balanchine | The Girl (May 2017) [40] |
The Dream | Sir Frederick Ashton | Titania (June 2017) [41] |
Giselle | Sir Peter Wright | Giselle (February 2018) [42] |
Coppelia | Dame Ninette de Valois (after Lev Ivanov and Enrico Cecchetti) | Swanilda (November 2019) [43] |
Onegin | John Cranko | Olga (January 2020) [44] |
Hayward has also danced as Princess Florine The Sleeping Beauty, Rose Fairy in The Nutcracker, and roles in Infra, Ballo della Regina , Symphony in C , and Within the Golden Hour , [4] and in Robert Binet's immersive work, The Dreamers Ever Leave You (in collaboration with the National Ballet of Canada).
Ballet | Choreographer | Date and Reference |
---|---|---|
Woolf Works | Wayne McGregor | May 2015 [45] |
Multiverse | Wayne McGregor | November 2016 [46] |
Morgen | Wayne McGregor | June 2020 [26] |
Like Water for Chocolate | Christopher Wheeldon | June 2022 [47] |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | Dancing the Nutcracker: Inside the Royal Ballet | Herself | BBC documentary film |
2017 | The Sun Is God | Francesca | Short film |
2019 | Romeo and Juliet: Beyond Words | Juliet | |
Cats | Victoria |
As a student at The Royal Ballet School, Hayward won the 2009 Lynn Seymour Award for Expressive Dance and the 2010 Young British Dancer of the Year Award. [11] She was also awarded the silver medal and Audience Choice Award at the 2010 Genee International Ballet Competition. [48] Hayward won the Best Emerging Artist in 2014 and the Grishko Award for Best Female Dancer in 2016 at the Critics Circle National Dance Awards. [49]
She was one of fifteen women selected to appear on the cover of the September 2019 issue of British Vogue , by guest editor Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. [50]
In 2020, Hayward was recognised as one of the United Kingdom's most influential people of African or African Caribbean heritage by being included in the 2021 edition of the annual Powerlist . [51]
Lydia Lopokova, Baroness Keynes was a Russian ballerina famous during the early 20th century.
The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in 1931 by Dame Ninette de Valois. It became the resident ballet company of the Royal Opera House in 1946, and has purpose-built facilities within these premises. It was granted a royal charter in 1956, becoming recognised as Britain's flagship ballet company.
Moira Shearer King, Lady Kennedy was a Scottish ballet dancer and actress. She was famous for her performances in Powell and Pressburger's The Red Shoes (1948) and The Tales of Hoffman (1951) and Michael Powell's Peeping Tom (1960).
Marianela Núñez is an Argentine-British ballet dancer. She is a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet, London.
Alessandra Ferri OMRI is an Italian prima ballerina. She danced with the Royal Ballet (1980–1984), American Ballet Theatre (1985–2007) and La Scala Theatre Ballet (1992–2007) and as an international guest artist, before temporally retiring on 10 August 2007, aged 44, then returning in 2013. She was eventually granted the rank of prima ballerina assoluta.
Gemma Bond is an English ballet dancer and member of the corps de ballet with American Ballet Theatre (ABT).
Ivan Oleksandrovych Putrov is a Ukrainian-born ballet dancer and producer. He trained at The Kyiv State Choreographic Institute and at The Royal Ballet School. Upon graduation Sir Anthony Dowell invited him to join the Royal Ballet, which he did in September 1998. He has continued to dance with companies around the world, to organize dance events and to teach.
Julia Farron was an English ballerina, best known as one of the earliest and all-time youngest members of The Royal Ballet, the leading ballet company based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London.
Natalia Petrovna Osipova is a Russian ballerina, currently a principal ballerina with The Royal Ballet in London.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a ballet in three acts by Christopher Wheeldon with a scenario by Nicholas Wright, based on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. It was commissioned by The Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, and the National Ballet of Canada, and had its world premiere on Monday, 28 February 2011. The music by Joby Talbot is the first full-length score for the Royal Ballet in 20 years. It is also the first full-length narrative ballet commissioned by The Royal Ballet since 1995.
The Winter's Tale is a ballet in three acts choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon to a commissioned score by Joby Talbot. The ballet is based on the play of the same name by William Shakespeare. With scenery and costumes designed by Bob Crowley, lighting designed by Natasha Katz, and special stage effects designed by Daniel Brodie and Basil Twist, it was a co-production of the Royal Ballet and the National Ballet of Canada. It was first presented at the Royal Opera House, London, on 10 April 2014. The North American premiere occurred the following year.
Alexander Campbell is an Australian ballet dancer and educator. He is the artistic director of the Royal Academy of Dance, and formerly a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet.
Akane Takada is a Japanese ballerina and a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in London. Her lead roles have included the title role in Giselle, Nikiya in La Bayadère, Kitri in Don Quixote, and Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty.
Sandra Elizabeth Madgwick is a retired English ballerina and former principal dancer at the Birmingham Royal Ballet, where she worked for 19 years. She initially trained at the Royal Ballet School and took over extensive roles both at the Birmingham Royal Ballet and at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden appearing in works such as The Nutcracker, The Two Pigeons, Coppélia, Les Patineurs, and Carmina Burana. She is well known for the role of Clara in the recorded and live-aired performance of 'The Nutcracker' in 1994. Her other recorded works include the studio-recorded performance of Hobson's Choice (1992), in which she starred as Hobson's daughter Vicky, and Royal Opera House performance of Coppélia (1995) in which starred as Swanhilda. She holds a master's degree in Dance in Education and the Community and is currently ballet tutor at Performers College and Dance East. She is married and has three sons.
Anastasia Stashkevich is a Russian principal dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet.
Marcelino Sambé is a Portuguese ballet dancer. He is a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet in London.
Matthew Ball is an English ballet dancer and is currently a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet.
Woolf Works is a full-length contemporary ballet choreographed by Wayne McGregor, composed by Max Richter, and inspired by Virginia Woolf's novels, letters, essays and diaries. The premiere took place on 11 May 2015 at the Royal Opera House. It was McGregor's first full-length ballet for The Royal Ballet, and won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production.
Corybantic Games is a ballet choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon to Bernstein's Serenade after Plato's "Symposium", with costumes designed by Erdem Moralıoğlu and sets designed by Jean-Marc Puissant. It premiered on 15 March 2018 at the Royal Opera House, danced by The Royal Ballet.
Reece Clarke is a Scottish ballet dancer. He joined the Royal Ballet in 2013, and was promoted to principal dancer in 2022.